John Lewis Christmas Ad Scores 5.6 Stars, Best Since 2019's Edgar

John Lewis's 2026 Christmas ad 'Gloria and Pickles' has scored 5.6 Stars with System1, the retailer's highest festive rating since 'Excitable Edgar' reached 5.9 in 2019. That makes it the second-strongest John Lewis Christmas campaign of the past eight years, according to the creative effectiveness company's testing.

The ad stars Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as a grandmother hunting for the perfect Christmas gift. It carries the message 'Don't give up on giving' and runs three minutes.

What does the score actually measure?

System1's Star Rating (a 1-to-6 scale predicting a campaign's long-term brand-building potential from emotional response testing) placed this year's effort above 2025's 'Where Love Lives' at 5.1, 2024's 'The Gifting Hour' at 4.6 and 2023's 'Snapper: The Perfect Tree' at 3.6. The trajectory is consistent. The question is whether it holds without a major brand misstep between now and next December.

Testing found 61% of viewers felt happy watching the ad. System1 says that is nearly twice the UK TV advertising average. Emotional response drives the Star score, so the number and the rating tell the same story. What the data doesn't show is any sales or traffic effect — the ad's commercial impact remains untested in public.

How did Saatchi & Saatchi turn it around?

The numbers point to a genuine recovery. Saatchi & Saatchi, appointed in 2023, opened with the weakest entry in the recent record: 'Snapper' at 3.6 Stars. Ratings have climbed every year since — 4.6, 5.1, now 5.6. Before the agency arrived, John Lewis had bottomed out: 'The Beginner' scored 3.3 in 2022 and 'An Unexpected Guest' 3.1 in 2021. 'Give a Little Love' managed 4.4 in 2020.

Andrew Tindall, Chief Growth Officer, Advertising, at System1, said: "'Gloria and Pickles' is John Lewis's strongest Christmas ad since 'Excitable Edgar' in 2019, scoring 5.6 Stars. It's also the fourth year in a row that a Saatchi & Saatchi ad for John Lewis has beaten the one before it. The story changes every year, but the idea underneath never does: the joy of a thoughtful gift. Consistency compounds creativity, and John Lewis is the proof."

He added: "Dame Kristin Scott Thomas carries one clear story from start to finish, and 61% of viewers left feeling happy, nearly double the average UK TV ad. John Lewis backed a new agency, gave them time to build, and the public are rewarding them for it."

Note what Tindall credits: patience. Four years of a client holding one agency and one core idea. That's rarer in British advertising than a 5.6-Star score.

What's in the ad itself?

The film follows Gloria as she struggles to find a meaningful present for her grandchildren. Her childhood toy dog Pickles, voiced by Paul Whitehouse, springs to life, and the pair embark on a last-minute Christmas shopping adventure.

The soundtrack is Sam Fender's cover of The Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. The story ends with Gloria converting her study into a 'Gran Cave', a space for creating memories with her grandchildren.

The full scorecard

John Lewis Christmas ad System1 Star Ratings, 2019–2026:

• 2026: 'Gloria and Pickles' – 5.6 Stars (2nd)
• 2025: 'Where Love Lives' – 5.1 Stars (3rd)
• 2024: 'The Gifting Hour' – 4.6 Stars (4th)
• 2023: 'Snapper: The Perfect Tree' – 3.6 Stars (6th)
• 2022: 'The Beginner' – 3.3 Stars (7th)
• 2021: 'An Unexpected Guest' – 3.1 Stars (8th)
• 2020: 'Give a Little Love' – 4.4 Stars (5th)
• 2019: 'Excitable Edgar' – 5.9 Stars (1st)

Edgar's 5.9 remains unbeaten. But a 2.0-Star climb in three years is the sharper lesson for marketing leaders — consistency, given time, compounds.